Things That Make You Go, "Hmm..."

 *I'm not sure why blogger cuts up my photos sometimes, it is so annoying!!

-Hot dogs, complete with the bun available at the grocery store...

-Christmas decor at the grocery store on Oct 31

-A poster for a painful-sounding band name.

Also, as I was writing this I realized that Greg and I aren't representing our country well. Just had 5 trick-or-treaters come to the door (they said it in German) and we didn't have any candy!!! What kind of Americans are we?! Oh, the shame.

Homesick in Germany

Germany is wonderful, but today I am just missing the states. 

My dad is in the hospital and I wish I were just a drive away to see him. Blah. 

Here are some shots from the past few days:

Thursday Highlights

To offset the dreary grey day, an impromptu jazz quartet, followed by a hot chocolate for Greg and chai tea for me.

After a lazy stroll through town window shopping, we sat in the town square and people-watched. The city is a-buzz preparing its holiday decor. One of our friends told us that the Germans decorate like nobody's business for the holidays and she wasn't kidding. Santa hats and glittery ornaments are already in the shop windows. Wreaths are popping up on doors, sparkling lights are being strung, a mini ice skating rink is being built outside the mall. Saws hum and hammers pound in sync as the construction crews build the booths for the Christmas markets. We've been told that the holiday season is magical here. 

German Lessons & Bad Energy

Apologies for my lack of updates- every month I get the prescriptions for my antibiotics filled and every time they give me pills instead of capsules (or vice versa) my joints flare up from the herx. Yesterday was so bad, I could barely walk. Today, thankfully, I am feeling much better. 

I had my first official German lesson the other day! It was nice to finally be able to ask the list of grammatical questions I've had building up in my head. I learned how to tell time, how to say I like something, and how to conjugate the verbs to know, to be, and to be called. I know this is just thrilling all of you, but seriously, I was feeling pretty empowered. 

In other news, we are planning a trip to Paris for our upcoming break. Today, in preparation, we went to a "ranch" we heard about that takes care of your dogs while you're on vacation. Our friends have used this place in the past for their lab, so we were excited to see what it was all about. Let me just set the scene for you: it was chilly and grey out today. It had been raining all morning, so by the time we arrived in the early afternoon, puddles had formed on the dirt road leading to our destination.  

The place was about 10 minutes out of the city. Each house we passed looked a little more shady than the next- rusted fences, boarded up businesses... Our car splashed down the muddy dirt lane and we parked. The dogs in the yards next door started barking incessantly-- There were maybe five dogs at one house on the left, and five or so dogs at the other house on the right. They were wet and hostile- a few Bernese mountain dogs, a German shepherd mix, little yap dogs, and some others were just going at it, angrily barking at us. Bad energy everywhere! We were looking for house number 91, and when we couldn't find it, we got back into the car, and drove down the road a bit more. We passed a large business sign with "Fuck U, Bitch" spray painted over it. Lovely.

Finally, we saw a sign for the ranch and pulled into the long driveway. We passed rusting farm equipment, a pile of wood, an old car... We parked outside the large barn, and none of us said a word nor moved to get out of the car. It was just an unsettling place. We brought one of Greg's German teammates to translate for us, as we were told the owners didn't speak any English. A dodgy man in jean overalls rubbed a tractor with a cloth just inside the barn and glanced at us out of the corner of his eyes but didn't move to speak with us. A woman in a tattered red sweater with wild hair came out from behind the barn, and stopped about 25 feet away when she saw us. She was a Marla Singer lookalike, complete with grey skin, yellowing teeth and dark circles under her eyes. Greg's teammate said we were looking for "The Ranch". 

The lady told us this was "The Ranch" and peered at us inquisitively, not moving. The skittish man in overalls continued to rub the same spot on the tractor. Greg's teammate looked at him, then at me. "Ok...." he said, and proceeded to ask if we could get some information about leaving our dog here while we're on vacation.

The woman mumbled something and crossed her arms over her chest. Greg's teammate looked back at us and said quietly, "She says she doesn't do it anymore."

He thanked her, and we all turned at exactly the same time to walk back to the car. I swear, it felt like that movie The Road, where people turned to cannibalism after the apocalypse. I was never so happy to get back into the car! 

So, obviously, our search for a good kennel continues... 

Silver Lining

Bad news first: poor Buckman is sick. He threw up twice yesterday, and was lethargic and unusually cuddly. Today he threw up, and (warning: do not read if you're currently eating and/or are queasy) it was bright green bile.

One of the German girlfriends on the team here offered to call the vet for me and try to make an appointment. I was concerned about how much it would cost because it's Sunday, and I figured we'd have to go to an emergency clinic. The last time we went to an ER for the dog in the states, he had to get five stitches and antibiotics and it cost around $300 I think.

Well, my friend was able to find a vet close by. His practice isn't normally open on Sundays, but his office is attached to his home and he said he wouldn't mind taking a look at Buckles. My friend, who we'll call N, wasn't sure if he spoke English and offered to come along and translate. So I picked her up and we headed to the vet's house.

I swear dogs are freakishly intuitive because no sooner were we a few blocks from his house did Buckles start crying...and it's not a cute little whimper, either. His cry is a little less intense than a full-on howl- so it's loud, high pitched and actually hurts the ears. Poor guy.

Word of the day: Behandlung- treatment

We rang the doorbell and this older man answered. He had gentle grey eyes, and a kind face framed by longer disheveled white hair. He was wearing faded black slim cut jeans and a red and black flannel shirt, and he did not acknowledge Buckles at all. I love that. There's nothing I can't stand more than when we go to the vet and they start in immediately with the high-pitched baby talk to Buckles. It gets him worked up, and the excitement changes to anxiety and it's just a disaster. This guy, however, had an air of calm. He told N that his English was very bad, which, as it turned out, was a blatant lie, as his English was perfect, save for the fact that he didn't know how to say 'feces'. I told him about Buckles' vomiting and lethargy, and he took his temperature, and gently looked at his teeth, in his mouth, in his eyes. He felt around on his stomach, and I've never seen Buckles so calm with a vet. 

The vet told me that Buckles was probably sick from rolling around/possibly eating (gross) the feces I wrote about in the last post. He said he'd give him two injections to help his stomach, and give me some drops to take home. The injections went as good as they could go. I mean, you can't fault a dog for yelping when a two inch long needle goes unexpectedly in your back not once but twice. 

Forty euro later (woohoo!!) we came home, and now he's laying on the floor sleeping. Hopefully this passes soon. The silver lining in this mess is that we found a really wonderful vet. I'm so grateful! 

Keeping warm with a blanket at the game :)

In other great news, Greg scored a hat trick at the last game! Yay! So proud! In case you're like my mom (Hi, Mom! Miss you!!) and you don't know, a hat trick is three goals in one game... But if you're like my mom and ask why they call it a hat trick, well, I have no idea. 

After the game so many people asked me what I had made for Greg's pre-game meal... I had to smile and tell the truth- that he heated up leftovers on his own and I went out for lunch by myself! Wife of the year over here...not. Haha.

Tonight's plan: N has offered to give me German lessons, so she got me some books from Munich and we'll have our first lesson tonight. Looking forward to it. :)

Dirty News

I think I talked about groceries on here before, but in case I haven't, you need to bring your own bags to the store. You can buy plastic bags there, but people will give you a Look. So today Greg brought his backpack in, filled it up with the day's groceries, and came home, only to drop the backpack on the sidewalk. We lost one egg in the spill, and an entire carton of yogurt exploded, as you can see. Good thing we have a dog to help us clean up.

In other dirty news, Buckles took the liberty of rolling in some type of animal shit feces while hunting for field mice yesterday. (Did you know dogs do that to mask their scent so their prey won't be alerted they're there?! Crazy.) So a bath ensued which is always an intense process, but well worth it because now he smells like a baby. (I used Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo from home.)

Today on the agenda: a home game for Greg and a workout for me. Have a happy Friday, everyone.

Unintentionally Funny

I've been feeling really sick since last night with an upset stomach, so I ended up laying in bed this morning watching old Gossip Girl episodes (don't judge!) instead of going to the gym. At 8am, I heard the doorbell ring and soon after, some muffled voices. Greg came upstairs and told me some guy showed up with a meter reader and asked to come inside to check the gas (?) levels of our water heater and furnace. He informed Greg that we have a gas leak, and said he'd send someone over this afternoon.

Fast forward to just now- 1pm- two guys showed up. Their English isn't good, but we gathered that our water heater has a gas leak and needs to be turned off. They are still banging around in the basement as I'm typing and Greg just went down to sneak a picture for my blog (what a guy). I'm eavesdropping on their "conversation:

Guy 1: "Who is chef of the house?"

Greg: "The owner?"

Guy 1: "Uh, the chef, the chef!"

Greg: "Well, um, I live here, but I don't own it...."

Guy 1: "The ice-hockey team?"

Greg: "Um, yes?"

Guy 1: "a;lksdjf;ajsdf;lakjdflkjasf" <-German

Guy 2: "adfiajdfalkdfjvm" <-German

Greg comes upstairs:

No idea what's going on. Then the men come up, ready to leave. 

Greg: "Hot water is off?"

Guy 1: "You have not hot water. You have to douche at the ice-hockey stadion."

Greg: (laughing) "Ok, danke."

Ah yes, every day is a new opportunity for learning vocabulary. New word: Douche = shower. 

:)

Hidden Gems

There is something so satisfying about discovering hidden gems so close to home. We found this restaurant, Jedermann's, right by our place tucked away from the road in a nondescript building that also houses what looks like the equivalent of a YMCA.

I started with a chamomile tea, and obviously chose a salad to start. 

This salad is currently in the number one spot on the European Salad Tour. It had roasted pumpkin seeds, a bunch of different type of lettuce, some sprouts, peppers, cukes and turkey breast. It was unreal.

Greg started off with a curry soup. It was creamy and delicious and we wished we knew how to ask what specifically was in it. 

Because I hadn't really eaten since breakfast, I also ordered gnocci... of course by the time it came, I was kind of full from the salad. Isn't it funny how a certain dish can remind you of a specific time in your life? The first time I ever had gnocci I was an au pair in Switzerland. I remember thinking it had the strangest texture, but I really liked it. 

Greg ordered this vegetable and chicken Thai dish with basmati rice. 

Overall, a really great night, made even more fantastic due to its proximity to our place.  :) 

Three Glows and A Grow

Three things I'm loving, and one thing that could be improved:

Glow 1: Nothing says fresh eggs like little chicken feathers...

Glow 2: Greg finally got the heater and the water heater to work by typing in all of the German instructions into his phone! 

Glow 3: A Rosie sighting! Remember my red lipstick wearing neighbor who always tries to converse with me even though we don't speak a common language? Buckles and I ran into her while she was walking her dog. We had a long conversation that involved elaborate gestures and facial expressions but I got the gist of what she was saying. First she asked if she could give Buckles a few treats. Then she talked about how beautiful the weather was, and asked if Greg had a game that night. She's so sweet- never phased by my butchered German. I snuck a picture while she wasn't looking. :)

Grow: Let me set the scene. We've just finished enjoying what was hands down the best food I've had since arriving in Germany. The service is great, the ambiance is calming...all is well. Until Greg leans over and says, "Did you fart?"I say no, and tell him I don't even smell anything...and then it hits me. The worst eggy fart stench ever... from the table next to us. I had to take a picture...but the photo ended up a bit blurry because I laughed in the middle of snapping it. We couldn't wait to get out of there! Nothing like sitting in an eggy fart cloud to get you out the door!

Case of the Mondays

We woke up to a grey dreary day...and a pile of vomit from the dog. Our heat isn't working, and we have no hot water. Again. So we decided we'd shower at the gym, but first had to stop and get something to eat.

We headed to this coffee shop downtown that also doubles as a regular restaurant. Free wifi was a plus, as was the unexpectedly large open room in the back filled with natural light from the skylights.

I was pretty excited about this chai tea to warm me up. It is SO cold here lately.

As part of the European Salad Tour, I bring you today's entree. This salad was really good, but the yogurt dressing was made with a heavier yogurt than I normally have, and to be honest, I didn't love it. It gets a 7 out of 10.

Greg stuck with a regular coffee. He is feeling much better, by the way. So much so that later on, he put on his party hat (literally) and serenaded us while waiting for the birthday boy to show up to his surprise party.

The party was pretty fun. There was a band, and I'm so grateful that the volume didn't bother me at all (Lyme disease patients often have noise sensitivity). 

The party was held at this Irish pub, and Greg and I ended up joining a trivia team and took part in their weekly trivia night. That was a lot of fun, and I hope we'll go back next week to play again.

Now that we're home, and it is freezing and we're still without hot water, Greg is downstairs in the basement literally typing every German word that is on the water heater into his phone to translate the instructions. No matter that it is almost 1am and we need to get up at 7:30am- desperate times call for desperate measures. Fingers crossed!

Holding Down the Fort

I'm happy to report that I haven't caught the Throwing Up Illness yet. I've been trying not to think about it because I'm one of those people who will obsess. My stomach will rumble and I'll convince myself I'm coming down with it when really I'm just hungry. It's easy to talk myself into craziness when Greg is gone because I'll just sit and stew unless I get out of the house and do something. Greg will be home tomorrow around 5am, and in the meantime, Buckles and I have tried to stay busy. 

We had a standoff at the mall between him and a cat decal on a store window.

We examined the latest trends... 

And did a little grocery shopping at the mall.

I went to the gym...where I realized I forgot my water bottle. No worries though, because they gave me a plastic cup of water- haha. There are no water fountains at the gym, but people carry around these (reusable) plastic cups of water, and no one worries that you'll spill on the carpet or machines. 

Also, I went in the sauna today....and as I approached the door I realized there was someone in there- a man. But I had already started opening the door so I couldn't just close it and run away, you know? Ugh. He was maybe 35? Just letting it all hang out. Made me really uncomfortable when he would move around and the sweat would make that sloshing sound, but I committed to a solid five minutes and then left. If there's two or more other people in there, it is not awkward, but with just one other person, it is too weird. I need to work on my nudity tolerance I suppose. Maybe I'll do a blog on nudity. It is just thought of differently here. Annnyway.

When it came time for bed, I went upstairs, brushed my teeth, and came into the bedroom to find Buckles on Greg's side of the bed (ps so far, all 'queen' and 'king' size beds I've seen have been two twins put together). Buckles rarely gets on the bed unless told to, so this made me smile. 

Even more rare, he slept on Greg's side of the bed for the whole night! Aw.

Street Art

Walked around the town and amongst the graffitied walls I found a few beauties I thought I'd share with you. I really enjoy street art. It is so unexpected and often pretty comical, so it makes me happy. The best part, however, is that it comes without pretentious airs and you can enjoy the ever-evolving canvas of the outdoors as you go about your day.

Speaking of days, yesterday was pretty awful. Greg woke up violently ill and was sick all day. I have never seen someone so sick. Luckily he passed out at the doctor's and not at home because I didn't even know Germany's 911 (later found out it is 112). Today he seems much better and left on a road trip with the team for a game tomorrow night. Fingers crossed I don't get sick! 

Scenes from Tuesday and the Discovery of the Jackalope

Apologies for the iPhone photos... I really should start carrying my camera with me at all times. Ah well, here are some highlights from my day:

A quite literal peppermint tea this morning

Flowers at the stadmarkt

A smiling rhino to brighten the dreary afternoon

Bavarian crest on the window of the Italian place where we ate dinner

This is Mauricio, the Italian chef

This pic is for my father-in-law who is an avid hunter. Decor at the Italian place. Greg says they are jackalope. Time out for a quick google search.....

OMGGGG. You guys. Is this animal serious?!
I present to you a jackalope:

What in the world is this thing?! It has a rabbit body, a cheetah face, reindeer antlers and rabbit ears. Where do these things live??? Ok sorry, time out again- must google.

HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA

Okay the real story is that jackalopes don't exist. Greg is currently having a good laugh at my expense. He really had me going!

That is so dumb. But wait, so what ARE those antlers at the Italian place????? Anyone?

Speaking of the Italian place...

Continuing our Europe salad tour, here we have what ranks as salad number 1 so far. It is a strip steak salad with grilled mushrooms and the most delicious dressing drizzled on top. 

 A special dessert from Mauricio- a pancake type dish unexpectedly delicious with a side of applesauce for dipping

Mmmm